moving from mtb to emtb .. my thoughts so far

[Gary]

your mate?

 

[Blair]

Hey Zagcatt
Your reasons for the switch are identical to mine. I’ve got a few years on you- I’m 60 but still pretty fit. The wife and me have got both Trekking and MTB and over the years we have riden all over Europe. however in recent years the hills have got tougher and tougher!!
we bought e trekking bikes in the summer and have now done more miles this year than we have for decades.
This then inspired us to then get e MTBs and we are now out on the bike parks doing the trails!!!
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MTB AND EMTB
I would say an MTB is like a hot hatch, whilst an eMTB is like a 4x4. To be honest for fire roads and bike parks the eMTB is so superior to the MTB. It’s more stable, you can maintain a better speed and Rythym. You can also do more runs in a session. the downside to the eMTB is that it’s tougher to do tricks, the extra weight makes bunny hops wheelies and manuals more challenging. However, for 99% of the day you don’t need these, so it’s a small disadvantage.
Perception....
I don’t care what others think.... in Germany 2018 e bikes took a 52% market share of all new bike sales. The world is changing.... just like in 2008 when mobile phone sales switched from Nokia to smartphones- the same change is occurring in the bike world.

 

[Trail-Niels]

I’ve been riding MTB for the last 6 years, mostly for the fun of it, being in the mid fifties I can’t keep up with the hardcore XC riders which is the majority here. As I got my enduro bike I found that downhill sections gave the biggest grin on my face, I have to confess that it’s strenuous to loop to get the downhill trail again and again. In a couple of weeks my first eMTB will arrive and be my shuttle on the days of fun on the downhill.
I don’t give a * what others are saying - and I’ve heard a lot since announcing my ordering of the eMTB. After all as with so many things it’s mainly envy and lack of knowledge.

 

[mtbross]

I am 50 and in in good health and have ridden MTB for the last decade.
But ...I recently find I am going out less and less... mainly mental hurdle of the physical pain of the frequent and inevitable hills here in N wales. I also have a 13 yr old son who now has to wait for me constantly.
So I have just ( thanks to specialized concept store Chester) had a turbo levo expert to try for the weekend.

my worries were: will I miss the sense of satisfaction when I get up a steep hill, and at the end of a hard ride.
will people think I am not a proper biker?

will it help me keep up with my son... and will he be ok with it.


So.... after 2 days of emtb... I hope my expericence helps others:
the positives:
I can do all the very steep hills that just plain hurt me with ease.. and thats in eco and trail.. not turbo.
I loved it!
It reminded me why I bike... it was not to get fit... it was to be outdoors and explore the hills. Endurance and sweat and pain were not part of the attraction more a consequence. so now that I can explore without that is absolutely fantastic. really really fantastic.
I can now do multiple rides a day !... before I was done in for 5 days while my knee recovered.
If in trail mode I did feel some guilt as it was just too easy. so I used eco a lot and still my legs getting a good workout without getting the pounding they used to.
I can now do my local route so fast that its a reality to do it in 45 mins before work... ie time pressure is far less of an issue.

the negatives:
I felt others perceive me as lazy... a cheat... as a non biker. Incredibly.... a lady on a horse said to me as we had stopped to let them pass "eww... and electric bike ... you're worse than me!." snort snort ...

she was sat atop an animal doing all the work for her! the irony!


That brose motor even on the 2020 bike has a very noticeable whine when under strain up a hill.

I have to remind myself at this point why I bike.... I love being in the hills exploring ... I love the freedom... I love being able to ride with my son .. not struggling way behind him.
so what if horsy lady or others think little of me for taking the 'lazy' option.... it's what suitesme for what are good and valid reasons, why should I alter that because of what folk think.
If you can afford it .. I recommend it highly , . but make sure you are happy with your reasons for switching.. then it really does not matter what others say or think.

sad to see the bike going back tomorrow....I will miss it! ..... but deposit also going down

btw... 177 cm ( 5.10) and the large levo is bang on fit ..medium would have been too small)

I would say, yes, you may miss that sense of satisfaction you get from a regular MTB climb. So...ride your regular bike from time to time. I do and the crazy thing is I'm riding it better now that I've been ebiking awhile. My skills in the nasty technical downhill terrain are much better, and while I'm not breaking any records climbing, I enjoy the lightness of the regular bike...from time to time.

Who cares what others think? And horse lady? Sounds like a creep. When I first got my emtb I used to care what other riders thought, especially if I came up on them on a climb. So what I do is dial the assist way back, creep by them and say hi, sometimes chat, then politely move on. Blasting by while others are at their max is not cool...in my opinion.

Your son will never drop you again...unless you want him to. That's pretty amazing right?

And you get plenty of exercise but with ebike you can control the strain on the body, which at 50 (63 for me) gets more important. Ebikes make me feel like I did when I started riding 30 years ago. Go for it I say. You will love it.

 

[Chubba]

It took a good while to make the change to EMTB and it has been a great move. Definitely riding more and having more fun, however, it has indirectly alienated a good few of my riding buddies that are still on normal pedal bikes.

I agree with the rest, I couldn't give a flying f#$% what anyone thinks of my bike. I also often get the glare and "you brought your scooter" comments, but I have a short verbal fuse so it often ends badly for them.....

I must admit, I also miss the grind/burn of my normal pedal bike, so I have included a few sessions of Wattbike when at the gym.

 

[9748simonb]

I am 50 and in in good health and have ridden MTB for the last decade.
But ...I recently find I am going out less and less... mainly mental hurdle of the physical pain of the frequent and inevitable hills here in N wales. I also have a 13 yr old son who now has to wait for me constantly.
So I have just ( thanks to specialized concept store Chester) had a turbo levo expert to try for the weekend.

my worries were: will I miss the sense of satisfaction when I get up a steep hill, and at the end of a hard ride.
will people think I am not a proper biker?

will it help me keep up with my son... and will he be ok with it.


So.... after 2 days of emtb... I hope my expericence helps others:
the positives:
I can do all the very steep hills that just plain hurt me with ease.. and thats in eco and trail.. not turbo.
I loved it!
It reminded me why I bike... it was not to get fit... it was to be outdoors and explore the hills. Endurance and sweat and pain were not part of the attraction more a consequence. so now that I can explore without that is absolutely fantastic. really really fantastic.
I can now do multiple rides a day !... before I was done in for 5 days while my knee recovered.
If in trail mode I did feel some guilt as it was just too easy. so I used eco a lot and still my legs getting a good workout without getting the pounding they used to.
I can now do my local route so fast that its a reality to do it in 45 mins before work... ie time pressure is far less of an issue.

the negatives:
I felt others perceive me as lazy... a cheat... as a non biker. Incredibly.... a lady on a horse said to me as we had stopped to let them pass "eww... and electric bike ... you're worse than me!." snort snort ...

she was sat atop an animal doing all the work for her! the irony!


That brose motor even on the 2020 bike has a very noticeable whine when under strain up a hill.

I have to remind myself at this point why I bike.... I love being in the hills exploring ... I love the freedom... I love being able to ride with my son .. not struggling way behind him.
so what if horsy lady or others think little of me for taking the 'lazy' option.... it's what suitesme for what are good and valid reasons, why should I alter that because of what folk think.
If you can afford it .. I recommend it highly , . but make sure you are happy with your reasons for switching.. then it really does not matter what others say or think.

sad to see the bike going back tomorrow....I will miss it! ..... but deposit also going down

btw... 177 cm ( 5.10) and the large levo is bang on fit ..medium would have been too small)

I could have written that myself! Lol.
Just turned 50, live in north wales, duff knees and just got myself a Decoy to replace my ageing Bos equipped Meta. I stopped riding regularly over 12months ago as it became offputting getting up early on a Saturday just to knacker myself on the first climb. I’m hoping the Decoy gets the buzz of being in the mountains back. I’ve a feeling it will and if that’s what it takes then I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. I,m 5’10” and I bought a large Decoy which puts me bang in the middle of the range for that size. Enjoy the Levo, bollocks to the neighsayers.

 

[spiru]

Totally agree with your thoughts. I´ll be 50 next month so I made myself an early present two days ago. I have ridden 140 km on my new Turbo Levo Comp and I am loving it.
I am 176cm and I chose the M size. I tried the L and feel quite good too. So I had some doubts about the size, but being kind of in between sizes I was recommended to go for the M and I am glad I did. I feel totally adapted now and I have some increased maneuverability.

 

[Gray squirrel]

Just climbed a jeep winch hill try that on regular bike ????no winch needed just emtb

 

[Gary]

my worries were: will I miss the sense of satisfaction when I get up a steep hill, and at the end of a hard ride.

Massively IMO

will people think I am not a proper biker?

WTF cares

Seriously

 

[04fuxake]

The mountain biking "purists" can get stuffed.

Our reasons for e-mtb'ing are various and not up for debate.

 

[kombos]

I'm 58 and can relate to a lot of scenarios mentioned here. Just did my second ride on my new Levo yesterday. Having tons of fun doing climbs and descents. On my regular MTB I would have to stop from time to time and rest. No so much on the Levo.

I ride in the desert and commented to my wife yesterday that this bike must kick up a lot more dust than my regular MTB because it and myself came home a lot dustier than usual. She said....uh....maybe it's because your doing nearly 3x the distance on a ride.